Piccoletto

Luca's Defeat

Luca gingerly picked up the sandwich and shakily took a bite. He didn't know what was inside of it but he didn't like it.

"Buona," Ercole said. "Are you going to cooperate now? We need to wash you."

Luca began to contemplate. If he nodded his head yes, he'd willingly speeden his death. He'd be speared through the chest and that would hurt. A lot. Luca really didn't want to have a painful death. But if he said no, it'd be only another fight prolonging his life.

Luca swallowed. "I want to take it alone."

Ercole stood up and began to shout. "I've had enough of this, Piccoletto! Why in the world must you shower alone?"

Luca's heart began to pound. "Why do you have to do it for me? I can do it myself! I'm not a little kid!"

"You are a little kid!" Ercole bellowed, his face turning red. "I could hurt you now if I wanted! I could rip the clothes off your back, and beat you until you can't move any longer!"

Luca threw the sandwich across the room. "You already have!"

Ercole looked back at the other end of the cellar, where he had laid down the two bottles of pills on the ground when Luca had fainted. Luca realized what Ercole was eyeing and began to panic. He had to do something.

Luca pushed himself up, immediately taken by surprise as the world tilted. He grabbed the wall for stability as his knees wobbled below him.

"Look at yourself!" Ercole said, gawking at Luca. "You can't even stand! What are you going to do? Fight me?"

The ground beneath Luca stopped tilting as he regained his balance and let go of the wall to bawl up his fists. He gave a slight nod at Ercole's question and stepped forward, but Ercole scoffed.

"I'm not fighting you, Piccoletto," Ercole said. "I've had enough of this. If you keep-"

"Don't call me that," Luca said, taking a step closer to Ercole.

Ercole rolled his eyes at what he believed was an inconvenience. Luca couldn't fight. Luca wouldn't fight. He was too injured, too small, too weak.

"I'll tell you what, Piccoletto," Ercole said, exaggerating his last word to bother Luca. "I'll give you the first swing. But be warned. If you choose hit me I will destroy you myself, knock you out, and get that blood off of you, even if you're no longer awake. Like I should have. You think you've felt pain? Compared to what I can do to you, this is nothing."

Luca stepped closer, his body trembling from the pain as the wound on his thigh let out more blood. His body cried out in protest, shaking and shivering from the cold of being in nothing but shorts. But he refused to go out without a fight. He wanted to die like Alberto would. Courageously.

"You need to step closer than that," Ercole said, looking at the exposed, bruised boy before him. "Do like this. I'll show you."

Before Luca could react, Ercole went up behind him and put his hands around Luca's wrists to pull them up closer to his head.

"You need to keep your face protected," Ercole said, as he let go of Luca's wrists. "And you need a wider stance to keep your balance."

Ercole sweeped his foot between Luca's legs to widen his stance. Luca flinched as he realized that Ercole had snaked up from behind and put two fingers on Luca's chest.Luca felt his heart thump wildly under Ercole's fingertips, defenseless as Ercole leaned in to whisper into his ear from behind him.

"Scared, Piccoletto?" Ercole said, feeling the rapid beating of Luca's heart as he pulled his hand away. "Good. You should be."

Without warning, Luca reacted. He had been so scared that he didn't even mean to do this, he just wanted Ercole away from him. He brought up his left leg and kicked it backwards, burying it into Ercole. Luca was hit with the sound of a deep scream.